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•Official B2/W2 In-Game Tiers• * READ THE OP *

Pokemon Black / White 2In Game Tiers Thread

What are In Game Tiers?
The In Game Tiers are SPPf’s attempt to rank each Pokemon within the Unova Dex based on how useful they are throughout the course of the main game. The applies to everything plot-based that occurs until the first Iris Battle at the end of the League. Each Pokemon will be tiered based on several criterias.

What are these Criterias?

Availability – How early can a Pokemon be obtained? How long does it take upon capture to become a relevant member if your party?

Movepool – How diverse is a Pokemon’s movepool? Does it have all the moves it needs to readily fuction as a part of your team, or does it lack the moves to pull it’s own weight? How early does it get said moves?

Stats – How well-versed are a Pokemon’s stats? Does it have the stats it needs to be to become a fast sweeper, or a tank that can endure hits well enough? Does it specilize in one particular stat, or can it function in multiple roles?

Major Battles – How well does a Pokemon fare in each of the Major Battles it partakes in? Does it play a critical role in any particular battle, or does it serve a support role?

Efficiency - How efficient is a Pokemon? Does it sweep teams with little toruble? Does it require some form of setup for real offensive presence? Does it forgoe fast-paced battles for more stalling?

Synergy - How well can a Pokemon fit into a team? Does it fit into any team with relatively little trouble? Or does it need support from certain teammates for it to really work?

How Many Tiers will be used?
This particular thread will use Seven diferent Tiers. They are as below

Top

High

Upper Middle

Middle

Lower Middle

Low

Bottom

How will a Tiering be determined eligible for addition to the OP
A Post needs to fulfil three criterias to be added to the OP

It has to be affirmed by three other members of the forums

One of these three approvers must be a Certified Poster. An approval must have a number next to it. Otherwise it will not be counted towards the general approval number

Certified Posters?
Basically the thread’s version of Moderators. That being said, they aren’t all that different from regular posters save the above mentioned function. The current Certified Posters are Tsumiki, zhanton, Noctourniquet, [GS] Creeper and Aurath8

New CP’s can be added, but they must be nominated by a CP. Don’t ask to be one, we’ll ask you if we feel you deserve the spot.

Which Pokemon are (not) Eligible for rating
+ The Last Pokemon from each Evolution Chain
+ Legendaries that are obtainable within the main plot
- Event-Only Legenaries
- Hidden Hollow / Dream World Ability Pokemon*
- Dream Radar Pokemon
*Mincinno from the Hidden Hollow in Route 5 and the Braviary / Mandibuzz found in Route 4 are exceptions to this rule

+It's stats alone make everything up to Skyla a joke
+Gets STAB Return off the bat, possibly being the most Powerful move you have for a long time
+Superpower + Flying STAB is near unresisted
-Somewhat barren movepool
-It's typing holds it back for it's first Gym

+Can reach its final evolution as early as lvl 25 and be almost twice as hard-hitting and twice as bulky as just about anything in the midgame.
+Gains valuable moves like Rock Slide and Bulk Up through levelup.
-Requires trading to reach full potential.
-Stuck with Wake-Up Slap, a fairly weak STAB, until lvl 45.
-Low speed means it will have tank a lot of hits during its sweeps

+Has the most Powerul Attack available within the main game
+Perfect availability, completely destroying Burgh
+Makes the otherwise challenging Corless fight a joke
-Hustle means it'll be missing everyone once in a while as a Darumakka
-Overusing Flare Blitz requires heavy maintinance.

+Fantastic Level Up pool, giving it all the tools it needs
+It's dual typing gives it a plethora of resistances
+One of the few Pokemon to naturally learn Earthquake (33)
+Remains relavant in all the Gyms, sans Marlon
-Has a somewhat bland movepool
-Slow start, doesn't fare well against Burgh

+ It's high Offense means it can take part in any battle after capture
+ Learns Dragon Dance at a very Early level letting it run through teams with a single boost
+ Has a wide enough movepool to do everything it needs to
+ Mold Breaker bypasses troublesome Abilities such as Levitate and Sturdy
- Requires Shard investment to hit Steels, unless the Player is willing to cope with Bulldoze's low BP
- While it's Spe is good, it's a very awkward number, making setup necessary to outpace *faster Pokemon

+It's plethora of resistances counteracts it's middling defenses
+Can play with both sides of the offensive spectrum thanks to it's stats and movepool
+Counter makes for Pre-Virbank a breeze
+Early evolution means you'll have 110Atk by Castelia City
-Doesn't have a good STAB move during Midgame

+ Always comes with near perfect IVs (all 30s) and an useful Nature for a mixed sweeper (Hasty = +Speed, -Def), meaning you will always end up with a solid poke without any effort
+ Faster growth.
+ All 30 IVs means max powered Hidden Power Fighting, making perfect coverage with a Dark type STAB. Focus Blast and Low Kick are both vaild alternatives
+ A good Illusion makes it's terrible defenses slightly less notable
+Sets up Nasty Plot with relativey little trouble if Illusion is used correctly
+ It comes with max happiness as well, so Return is a solid option from the beginning
+ Not many moves, but they're just the right ones. Dark move/Fighting move/Flamethrower/Filler grants very wide coverage and a lot of super-effective hits
+ Instantly gets a special STAB thanks to the Snarl TM, comes 5 levels from being evolved so it will hardly be a burden as Zorua
- Very frail. Requires some thinking with Illusion to be used properly

+Huge Power
+Great STAB after receiving Return/Frustration.
+Aqua Tail is a solid STAB if you can get it to evolve fast enough.
+Solid movepool that doesn't take too much effort to make.
+Early evolution makes for a great early game.
-Virtually useless against Elesa because it's too slow.
-Prone to missing the Aqua Tail until Waterfall is obtained.
-Low Spe means it'll be going second more often than not.
-Virtually useless for the first 15~20 minutes of the game.

+ Best Non Legandary SpA in the game.
+ Has a wide enough movepool to do what it needs to.
+ Dusk Stone found in Strange House for evolution.
+ Gets STAB Shadow Ball soon after capture.
+ Useful against most of E4 and Team Plasma.
- Requires quite a bit of grinding to evolve.
- Struggles in remaining gym battles.
- Defensive typing leaves it with quite a few weaknesses

+ Great abilities. Skill Link is a great ability for Cinccino, making its core moves extremely powerful, and Technician works well too.
+ Good attack and speed
+ Its movepool suits its playing style
+ Can evolve soon after you catch it
- Quite frail (75/60/60)
- Doesn't pull it's weight during the Elite Four Campaign

+ Early Evolution gives you a 130SpA Pokemon with a 65BP STAB with relatively little ease
+ Gets an Endgame STAB move relatively early (Psychic, 37)
+ It's high base SpA lets it partake in all major battles that don't resist Psychic
+ While small, it's movepool has all the moves it needs to function
- Requires slight babying when first caught
- Physically frail

+It's Ability means it'll rarely suffer from misshax
+Thunder + Compoundeyes is a fantastic combination
+ Does all the grinding it needs at Skyla's Gym thanks to it's STAB + Lucky Egg
+ Does half the Elite Four in. Also useful against Iris
+ Sets up Paralysis with ease
- Isn't all that useful against Team Plase
- It's fraility puts it at a kill-or-be-killed situation

+Particularly useful in the endgame against Team plasma and the E4.
+Has two fantastic Abilities to choose from
+It’s movepool has all the right moves it needs to function
+Intimidate gives it artificial Physical Bulk
-Has a rather slow Midgame due to middle Krokorok stats

+ Doesn't suffer from Petal Dance's drawback thanks to Own Tempo
+ The traded one comes with max SpA IVs and Timid Nature
+ Sleep Powder lets it setup Quiver Dances with ease
- While helpful, Sleep Powder doesn't have the best Accuracy
- Lackluster defenses may give it some trouble while setting up
- Is limited exclusively to it's STAB moves for damage

+Makes for an easy early-game thanks to Razor Shell
+Balanced stats
+Offensive stats let it play Physical, Special or even Mixed
-Has trouble with Mid-Early Game (Burgh, Elesa)
-Lackluster Spe isn't doing it any favors

+It's STABs get fantastic coverage
+It's Defenses mean it doesn't worry as much about Hi Jump Kick
+Hi Jump Kick at a very early level (Lv. 31)
+Single Handedly takes down three of the Elite Four
+ Has two fantastic abilities to play with
- Evolves very late
- Lacks Drain Punch until basically endgame

+ Useful from the get-go - it dominates both Drayden (Blizzard) and Marlon (Thunder) with TMs you can buy from the PokeMart as soon as Staryu is available
+ You can evolve it straight away
+ Easy access to BoltBeam and a powerful STAB move (Surf)
+ Great SpA and Speed stats
- Doesn't particularly shine against the E4 (apart from Iris and Marshall)
- Available a bit late

+Evolves fairly soon after capture
+Useful from the get-go, dominating Skyla with Rock Slide which is found in the same location it is
+Wide enough movepool to give it some variety
+Sturdy guarantees a turn of Rock Polish setup
-Slow as sin, requires a turn of setup to outspeed most things
-Falters in usefulness after Skyla

+Foud Early, being a major player in the first two gyms it encounters
+Endgame move at early levels (Flamethrower, 33)
+Intimidate gives it artificial Physical Bulk
+Constantly gains STAB moves until evolution, always making it relevant
+Can evolve whenever the player pleases, thanks to Fire Stone being found in Desert Resort
-Not overly useful during the later parts of the game
-Evolves very late if you choose to learn Flare Blitz
-A good portion of it's coverage moves require shard investment

+ Comes at a comparatively high level with some of its best moves, making it an instant standout
+ Has a good offensive typing and a better defensive one, coupled with legendary stats
+ Volt Switch hurts Water-types that resist its STAB, making it a solid choice for any fight
+ Rips apart Plasma and contributes against many other major bosses, especially Grimsley
- Comes late, and its 580 BST is undermined somewhat by lack of EVs
- Doesn't hit amazingly hard without Swords Dance or a Justified boost

+Appealing special movepool
+Blistering speed gurantees it to move first
+Can break through tough defensive Pokemon with Super Fang.
+STAB Acrobatics is lethal
-Barren Physical Movepool
-Without its Egg move, Nasty Plot, its good special movepool is wasted on its low SpA stat.
-Not useful in any major battles bar Marshall and Burgh.

+Shell Smash makes it an absolute monster
+Gets an endgame STAB move at a very early level (Rock Slide, Level 29)
+Guaranteed a turn of setup thanks to Studry
+Defeats half the Elite Four on it's own
-It can still be KOed by many things after setting up Shell Smash, thanks to it's Spe stat
-Walled by Fighting Types unless the player decided to use Aerial Ace (eh...)

+ STAB Acrobatics hurts. Alot.
+ Gligar manages to hold it's own for a while thanks to it's Def stat
+ Has all the coverage moves it needs
- Won't be evolving until Endgame
- Relies on Bulldoze for it's Ground STAB move

+Gets STAB Surf straight away and STAB shadow ball soon after
+Will-o-wisp, recover, high special defence allows for stalling until you get KO's.
+Extremely deep move pool
+Can be caught fully evolved
+Plays well against half the Elite Four. Holds it's own against the Champion
+Typing is excellent for offensive and defensive
+You can rely on it to barely ever get OHKOed
-On the slow side like most bulky waters
-85 special attack isn't amazing but a good nature and great STABs can compensate.
-Not the earliest availability, and requires some grinding upon capture

+ Gets STAB X-Scissor fairly quickly, and has the stats to do well throughout most of the mid-game with X-Scissor and Fighting move
+ Swords Dance at Lv. 40 gives it destructive potential for late-game
+ Fares well against Grimsley and Caitlin in the end-game
- Learns a butt-ton of decent Fighting moves via level-up... and has no Fighting STAB to use them with
- Moves start to lack power later on, and Pinsir doesn't get better replacements at all; must use Swords Dance to hit harder
- Doesn't do that well against Skyla, and pure Bug isn't a great typing for any other Gyms

+Gets constant recovery from it's main STAB
+Can support the team with Stun Spore / Leech Seed
+Petal Dance destroys anything that doesn't resist it
- Late Shiny Stone means it won't be evolving until Opelucid City
- It has limited coverage
- Physically frail

+Has one of the best Movepools in the game
+Magic Guard lets it soak up statuses
-Barely sees use in major battles as a main fighter
-Middling defenses spell trouble for it endgame
-Relies on it's STAB for a good portion of the game

+ Huge movepool
+ Balanced offensive stats and good speed allow it to perform effectively as a mixed sweeper
+ Only Pokemon with access to Scald before Marlon
+ Evolves quickly
+ Good typing and movepool means it is useful for almost all of the remaining gyms
- Frailty becomes a problem late in the game
- Offenses are good, but often not good enough

+It's stats make for one of the best Special tankers within the game
+One of the few Pokemon that can really take advantage of ToxiStalling
-Lacks a STAB move until Driftveil, only after the Clay Battle.
-Not overly useful for major battles after obtaining Water STAB

+ Comes at a comparatively high level with some of its best moves, making it an instant standout
+ Sweeps Marlon and Grimsley, and can help out against Plasma and Iris
+ Legendary stats help compensate for somewhat sub-par typing
+ STABs are decent enough, and tutors are available for better neutral coverage if necessary
- Comes late, and its 580 BST is undermined somewhat by lack of EVs
- Doesn't hit amazingly hard without Swords Dance or a Justified boost

+ Amazing SpA stat considering how early it's found
+ Get's free Signal Beam right off the bat
+ Sees major usage during the later parts off the game
- Is stuck with Signal Beam / Energy Ball for a good chunk of it's time
- Doesn't get Quiver Dance until endgame, if at all

+ Atk and Spe stats mean it'll wreck havoc on anything that doesn't resist it's STAB
+ Blessed with the wide movepool that all Normal Types seem to have
+ Coverage lets it play a part in every remaining major battle
+ Immunity lets it soak up Poison, which is arguably the most common status ailment
- Frail on both sides on the spectrum
- Doesn't get Swords Dance until a rather late level. Even then, setting up won't be easy thanks to it's low Defenses

+ Sucker Punch is an amazing move. STABed Priority with 80BP? Yes please!
+ Movepool that covers everything it really needs to. Dark + Fighting is amazin neutral coverage and X-Scissor / Zen Headbutt rounds up coverage nicely
+ A terrific Pokemon to bring to the E4. Destroys two of the four and can mess with Grimsley with Superpower
- Decent-at-best defenses really start to show during the later parts of the game
- Not too useful pre-Elite Four.
- Relying on Superpower for coverage means it'll be either be switched around a lot or will have to use Swords Dance, which isn't the easiest thing due to it's lackluster defenses

+Adaptability makes it's STAB moves dent everything that doesn't resist it
+Gets all the coverage it needs with Superpower + Crunch
+One of the better users of Priority with Adaptability + Aqua Jet
-Frail on both sides
-It's non STABed moves won't be hitting as hard as the rest of the team during the later parts of the game

+Sniper and Battle Armor are good ingame abilities.
+Great offensive movepool giving it quite a few variations.
+One of the few defensive Pokemon able to deal decent damage.
+Useful against Shuantal and Caitlin.
-Lacks a good physical Poison STAB until Lv.57(or 49 if kept as Skorupi).
-Available a bit late.
-Not very useful in the remaining gyms and against Colress.

+ Levitate removes it's single weakness
+ One of the best offensive movepools in the game with stats to compliment it
+ Can take a hit from just about everything in the game
- Requires major babying until evolving from Tynamo to Eelektrik. This is somewhat remedied by catching one in Seaside Cavern instead
- Slow as sin. It'll be taking hits more often than not

+It's offensive stats and typing let it play Mixed terrifically
+It's high HP offsets it's Defenses to some extent
-Has quite a few weaknesses
-Hammer Arm as a main STAB move ensures it becomes outsped by everything after a single use
-Has no Fighting STAB after Arm Thrust for a long time.

+Very Fast which means it will be outsped by only a few things like Accelgor,Crobat and Jolteon.
+Great offenses to hit hard.
+Crunch+Low Kick/Brick Break gives it an unresisted coverage(apart from Toxicroak and Heracross).
-Low Defenses means it will take huge damage if it is unable to OHKO the opponent.
-Priority moves bypass its blistering speed and hit hard.

+The traded one comes just in time to destroy Skyla
+It's low Spe is offset by it's ridiculous Def allowing it to set up Rock Polish with little trouble
+Sturdy is fantastic
-Quite literally has no usable moves outside the mentioned ones
-Mono Rock isn't the best defensive type

+Water Pulse at Lv 18 makes for a solid early game
+It's Psychic Type coverage moves make Roxie much easier
-It's Stats really drag it down during the later parts of the game
-Doesn't have a Psychic Type to compliment the Psychic coverage
-A limited Movepool

+Works well with it's typing, having little trouble with Team Plasma
+Come early enough to make Burgh a breeze
+Has a great selection of moves to choose from
-Struggles throughout the game due to late evolutions, meaning it requires constant babying
-Defensive Typing and Low Spe means it will be withered quickly
-Relies on it's STAB until Late/Endgame

+High Spe and Atk mean that it'll be able to sweep efficiently
+U-Turn is a great move that works in tandem with Regenerator
-Missing with Hi Jump Kick ensures it being KO'd
-Evolves at a very late level (50), requiring some amount of babying until then

+ Outstanding Attack stat; excellent last-moment pick for a Fighting-type
+ Movepool is compact, but has everything Sawk needs; everything not called Close Combat is just token coverage
+ Very useful against all of Grimsley's team, and can defeat Iris's Hydreigon with Sturdy, as well as her Aggron
- Death fodder for two E4 members
- Comes late, giving it little time to gain EVs and sock butt
- Close Combat has low PP, necessitating a weaker STAB move for frequent use

+ Has the best pratical physical defense in the game.
+ Typing gives it plenty of resistances to play with.
+ Curse makes it near impossible to take down with Physical moves
- Doesn't get Earthquake, leaving it with only Steel STAB
- Is stuck as Onix for a good bit, leaving you with Base 45 Atk
- Slow as sin, it'll get hit more often than not

+ Hits destructively hard with STAB moves; neutral hits are devastating
+ Has good bulk as Reuniclus
+ Can skip crap stage by catching at Strange House or Route 9
- Not particularly noteworthy against bosses not named Marshal
- Both slow and frail as Solosis/Duosion, making it difficult to use mid-game
- Has minimal coverage, and it can't touch Steel-types

+Gets Seed Bomb upon capture.
+Can evolve immediately through the Leaf Stone in Lostlorn Forest.
+Wide movepool.
-Its offenses aren't the highest meaning it will miss KOs in the lategame.
-Frailty is also exposed more later on.

+Evolves shortly upon capture.
+Can reliably Sleep an opponent due to it's bulk.
-Offensively, it's typing isn't the most useful after it's capture.
-It's low Spe and SpD means that Special hits will wither it down quickly.

Terrakion - Middle TierAvailability - Late Game (Route 22)Notable Moves -Sacred Sword, Rock Slide, Swords Dance, X-Scissor, Rock PolishStats -Excellent Attack and Speed as well as decent Defenses overall. Special Attack is pretty poor, but you shouldn't be using it anyway.

+Excellent type coverage and just between its STAB moves too. Not to mention Sacred Sword's high PP, good base power and general reliability.
+Excellent moveset available to it very quickly.
+Excellent stat-boosting moves in the form of Swords Dance and Rock Polish.
+Excellent Attack and Speed.
-Obtained quite late in the game.
-Defensive typing leaves it with a fair few weaknesses.

+ Thick Fat gives it an extra resistance (Fire)
+ Natural Ice Beam lets it destroy Drayden
+ Bulky enough to take several hits
- Starts painfully slow, Sealeo has terrible stats
- Is outclassed by Lapras is just about every way
- On the slow side

+Useful against 2 of the Elite 4 and the champion.
+Can be evolved almost immediately as there's a Razor Fang in the Giant Chasm.
+High Atk and Spe let it sweep if given the right conditions
+One of the few Pokemon that gets a usable Priority move
-Bad defensive typing and stats means most battles will be high-risk 'KO or be KOed' battles.
-Found very late in the game, making it a tack-on choice more often than not.

+Poison Gas + Venoshock makes for a viable Early Game
+Great Endgame, being arguably the best Physical Wall
+Will-O-Wisp only adds to the Physical Wall factor
-85SpA just doesn't cut it endgame
-Doesn't have half it's movepool Late / Endgame
-Has a terrible Mid-Game.

+Early Thunder Wave lets it support the team right off the bat. Confuse Ray only adds to the fun
+Bulky with only a single weakness
- No reliable STAB move between Thundershock (8) and Discharge (33 Flaafy, 40 Ampharos)
- Limited movepool

+Useful against Caitlin and Grimsley with Megahorn
+Lots of high-powered STAB moves.
+Good enough coverage moves where it's a notable point
-Found very late.
-Typing leaves it struggling against 2 E4 members and does fairly average against the champion.
-Low speed puts a lot of pressure on his defences.*

+ Evolves immediately after capture
+ Has a great STAB to work with immediately (Earth Power)
+ Learns Earthquake naturally (Level 46)
- Not too useful for the major battles it partakes in save Corless
- Slow as sin, requires Rock Polish to be able to outspeed most things
- Has a 4x weakness to Water. Undella Town is the next major are you visit. Yeah...

+Has a Movepool wide enough to hit a large number of Pokemon for Super-Effective Damage
+Gets an endgame STAB move fairly early (Thunderpunch; Level 29)
-Evolves very late, and therefore requires constant babying until evolution
-Doesn't have access to the majority of it's moveset until near endgame

+ Hits hard from both sides of the offensive spectrum
- Doesn't evolve until after Burgh unless the Player gets lucky with the swirlig dirt in Relic Passage
- Has a bland Movepool and therefore, coverage
- Physically frail

+It works well as an Endgame player
+Gets two fantasic moves very early on, with the Atk stat to compliment it
-It evolves too late to be of use for any major battles
-No endgame STAB moves until very late levels meaning constant babying
-Trapinch is terrible
-Vibrava is arguably worse

+Gets great STAB in Psyshock early.
+Bulky enough to take hits when needed to
-With no way to boost its attack until postgame, it will falter lategame because of its not so brilliant SpA
-Little defensive/support options to compliment it's bulk

+Guaranteed to set up a Thuner Wave to support it's team
+It's great offensive stats let it sweep easily if given the chance
-Has no Special STAB move until Discharge (Lv. 37) unless the user is willing to cope with Volt Switch forcing it to switch after every use
-Frail as heck on the Physical. A kill-or-be-killed in that regard
-Somewhat lacking Special Movepool

+Razor Leaf and Bug Bite make for a great earlygame
+Evolves into Leavanny shortly after Swadloon
+It's Bug STAB plays well with the E4
-Barren Movepool
-Struggles Mid-Game
-Typing gives it two 4x weaknesses

+ Can evolve into Mamoswine immediately
+ Gets Earthquake naturally
+ One of the few Pokemon with a good Priority move to abuse
- Found too late; doesn't play a part in any major battles save Iris
- Lacks a powerful Ice STAB Move, severely hindering it during the one major battle where it has some screentime
- Is rather easy to be taken down by Special Attacks. Three of it's weaknesses (Fire, Water, Grass) are somewhat common Special types seen

+Has all the coverage it really needs
+It's Defensive typing gives it a plethora of resistances, working well with it's insane defenses
+Oh my god those Defensive stats
+Can use Rock Polish with relatively little trouble to fix it's terrible Spe stat
-It's SpA is bad for endgame purposes. It also has no way of fixing it
-It's typing gives it two 4x weaknesses
-Not too useful for any major battles after Skyla

+Stats let it sweep if given the right conditions
-A somewhat limited movepool
-Requires a bit of babying before it evolves
-Lacks a Grass STAB move until after evolution unless willing to invest Shards for Seed Bomb
-Not overly useful for Major battles save Marlon

+Evolves at relatively early points, making it stat-wise relavent for a good chunk of the game
+Has a noteworthy Physical Movepool
+Bug / Poison makes for a unique typing
-It's Stats endgame don't let it play the dominant role
-Not too useful against most major battles

+Can set up with relative ease thanks to it's high Spe and Defenses
-Requires Setup to deal any noticable damage during latter parts of the game
-Is relatively useless against half the gyms and Team Plasma
-Doesn't have the most versatile of movepools

+ Can be evolved immediately after being caught
+ Mixed Offense is a viable option thanks to it's balanced offensive stats
- Shoddy defenses become a problem later in the game. Mono Fire does not help this at all
- While good, it's offenses will lag during the later parts of the game

+ Signal Beam the moment you get it and good Special Attack give it a strong start
+ Always goes first. Seriously.
+ Good choice to fight Grimsley and Caitlin in the end-game
- Can't handle Skyla at all, and becomes more difficult to make kills in the late-game
- Movepool is laughably bad; Bug/Grass is terrible coverage, and it only has STAB on Bug
- Requires someone to trade with and Signal Beam tutor to do anything at all

+ Early Giga Drain makes for a solid source of damage
- Requires a couple of levels of babying before it evolves
- Has nonexistant coverage, only limited to Giga Drain / Return / Venoshock
- Requires some amount of grinding to have Spore in time for the Elite Four
- Ridiculously slow, it'll be outsped by just about anything

+ Requires mininal grinding to evolve. Also gets Icicle Crash upon evolution
+ Movepool with just enough moves for all the coverage it needs
- It's bulk is somewhat mitigated by it's typing; Mono Ice is a terrible defensive typing
- Doesn't have a way to fix it's low Spe

+Great Defensive stats and typing.
+STABed Gyro Ball coming from something as slow as it deals a ton of damage
+Can use either Levitate or Heatproof to negate one of it's weaknesses
+Can act as an Supporter with moves like Hypnosis, Confuse Ray and Dual Screens
-Found Late in the game, and requires notable grinding to catch up the rest of the party
-Not too useful during the remaining Major battles.
-It's Main Offensive Move, Gyro Ball, only has 5PP making it a burden Offensively
-It's lower levels mean it won't be taking hits as well as it could be

+Has one of the most extensive Special Movepools in the game
+Magic Guard is a fantastic Ability letting it soak up Status ailments
-It’s SpA just doesn’t cut it endgame, Charge Beam being the only way to boost it.
-Mediocre stats for something found so late.
-Doesn’t fare well with the remainder of the game

+ Defenses let it take hits when it needs to
+ Learns Will-o-Wisp at a very early level letting it support it's physically frail teammates
- Unexciting coverage. Ghost + Grass is resisted by a number of Pokemon.
- Slow, meaning even it's defenses will last so long
- Lack of boosting makes it's offenses lack during the endgame
- Forced to rely on Hex until Shadow Ball (Lv. 39)
- Requires some amount of babying, given Yamask's lacking stats

+Available all year round and easy to catch - the most convenient Ice-type before Drayden
+Evolves immediately after capture
+Can easily Toxic-stall with Dive
-Stats are all too average for it to really sparkle in a certain role
-Offensive stats are severely lacking. It won't be OHKOing anything, ever
-Doesn't shine in major battles after Drayden. Even then, relies on the inaccurate Blizzard for Drayden

+Doesn't need extra grinding to play it's role
+Has all the moves it really needs
-Found too late in the game to contribute
-Not overly useful against the E4; it'll be outsped and OHKOd by Iris
-That Speed stats is terrible with no way of fixing it.

+Comes packed with STAB Earthquake
+Has all it’s needed moves off the bat
+Fares fairly well against the Elite 4
-Comes far too late in the game
-More or less requires Rock Polish Setup to outspeed anything

+ Has amazing defences for the point of the game where you get it.
+ No offensive presense whatsoever.
+ Does quite well in the lategame against the E4 thanks to Toxic/Roost, its defences and typing.
- While decent early on it has very little offensive presence throughout much of the midgame
- Doesn't get defensive options like Toxic/Roost until lategame either, struggling until that point.
- Toxic/Roost isn't very efficient.

+ Early Giga Drain + 106SpA makes it a force to be reckoned with upon capture. The combination makes it stay relavant until post-Clay
- Only has Normal and Grass coverage from it's stronger Offensive stat
- Most coverage moves run off it's weaker Atk stat
- Slow. It can only be boosted by Sun which may hinder your team
- Too frail to deal with Endgame Pokemon

+ Wide Movepool lets it patch holes that your team may have
- Low Speed and decent-at-best defenses mean it'll be knocked out with relatively litte ease.*
- Found too late to be of any use. It also faces competition from Water Pokemon that are simply much better*

+ An amazing movepool that lets it hit most thing for Super Effective Damage
- Fraility lets it be killed more often than not when paired with it's lacking Spe
- Relies on Poison Tail for STAB until Poison Jab (Lv. 42)
- Doesn't get most of it's movepool until lategamecker

+ Stats make it an effective tank
+ Tanks its way through Grimsley, especially with Bulk Up, and can do well against Iris's team due to its bulk
+ Can run Guts + Flame/Toxic Orb to trade staying power for offensive power
- Death fodder for two E4 members
- Comes late, giving it little time to gain EVs and throw butt
- Lacks reliable, easily spammable STAB
- Will nearly always get hit first due to bad Speed

+Early Return makes a fantasic Early game
+Early Evolution lets it hit pretty hard for a good part of the game
+Lacks Moves to the point where it can fit Fly into it's Moveset
-Lags during the last few levels prior evolution
-It's Level Up Movepool is absolutely terrible
-Has no coverage moves outside it's STABs
-Has to rely on Aerial Ace for STAB, unless the player is willing to use Two-Turn moves.

+Fairly useful against the champion as well as Grimsley and Caitlin with Signal Beam.
+Early Ice Beam
-Non-existent movepool. Not including Hidden Power and Blizzard(+Hail) it has 2 attacks usable before the E4, maybe 3. It doesn't get much better after.
-Found very late.

+Evolves immediately.
+Unlike other walls, it gets Toxic and a recovery move in Heal Order relatively early.
-Horrid Bug/Flying typing.
-Only female Combee evolve, and only 5% Combee are female. It will be very tedious to catch a viable female Combee, including natures and other things.
-Offensive movepool is limited to its STABs and Power Gem.

+Good movepool
+Available and evolves early.
+Early Return makes for a very solid earlygame
-Requires a vast investment of shards/BP to get all but 2 of the moves listed above.
-It's horrid stats become increasingly more apparent as the game drags on; Watchog has stats comparable to a middle evolution like Vigoroth.
-That massive investment for various moves really doesn't payoff very well in the end.

+ Prankster ensures it pulls off the team support it needs to
- Lack of Sleep Powder, which is critical for something playing the role it's playing
- No Offensive presense whatsoever, it has below average SpA with no way to remedy this.
- Doesn't find major use in any major battles save Clay
- Can do nothing whatsoever against Steels

+ Huge HP turns it into a fantastic Wish user (if you don't like spamming items in battle). It also gets Protect via level up (no PWT farming needed). Yay gimmicks
+ Soak can let you use Toxic on anything, including Steel and Poison types. YAY GIMMICKS
+ Wish, Protect, Toxic and Waterfall/Dive (post elite4) makes for a pretty solid tank/support set.
- Pure tanking and toxic stalling is a long and tedious way of winning a battle, and it's pretty much anything this it's got.
- Poor coverage moves do not redeem its mediocre Attack stat in any way.
- Cannot take special hits. Carrying a pure wall in your team is already a burden ingame, but a pure PHYSICAL wall? Even worse.

+ It... Has great Atk
- Has no Physical moves save it's STAB and Return (Dark gets pretty much the same coverage so..)
- Walled by both Rock and Steels types for the most part
- Frail on both sides of the spectrum
- Main STAB (Shadow Claw) suffers from a low 70 BP offsetting it's above mentioned Atk stat

+Can make good use of three weathers
-Stats give out it no particular strengths
-Relies on weather to do substantial damage
-Weather potentially disadvantages teammates, and requires compromise in teambuilding as a result
-Almost all of its notable moves come as TMs late in the game

- Late Availability and Terrible Offense means it won't be dealing any damage. Ever.
- Typing leaves it with a fair amount of weaknesses
- Too slow to do anything. It'll probably be OHKOed by a Super Effective hit
- Does naught for any major battles

+Early Return
-Terrible stats mean that it won't be dealing too much damage even after evolution
-Stuck with only it's STAB until practically endgame
-Stuck as a Skitty until Route 6. Some earlier Pokemon are fully evolved by this point
-Normalize makes coverage nonexistant

-Very late and lacking in stats at that point in the game.
-Incapable of damage without Hustle or Toxic
-Requires TMs/Move Tutors as it only learns one move, Present, through levelup.
-Outgunned, outsped and outclassed by just about every Pokemon in the game

-Very late in the game
-Only one move: Transform.
-Its non-existent defences mean it will almost never get a Transform off.
-Even after Transforming, Ditto is at a disadvantage because all copied moves have 5PP and you share strengths and weaknesses with the opponent who gets a free turn to exploit them.

+Can get STAB Gunk Shot as early as Driftveil City thanks to Move tutors.
-Must rely on an inaccurate move as it doesn't learn Poison Jab.
-Requires heavy shard investment to get much of its moves.
-Really lags behind in the early 30s before it evolves into Garbodor and gets Drain Punch.
-Doesn't get Drain Punch until Humilau city, forced to rely on the bad coverage Gunk Shot Return and Seed Bomb provide.

+ Gear Grind and Shift Gears are great moves that are exclusive to it
+ Has surprisingly good stats
- Nonexistant coverage; only has Gear Grind and Return until Wild Charge for endgame
- Evolves ridiculously late, and the payoff isn't worth it
- Is pretty much dead weight until evolution into Klingklang; Klang is a terrible second evolution stage

+Early Return / Frustration means it can do something for a while
-Requires heavy shard investment to form a full moveset.
-Bad offences prevent it from taking out opponents efficiently.
-Lacks good defences relegating it to support.
-Lacks most support options until much later on in the game.

+ Low speed kind of compensated by Rock polish
+ Good ability turning one of your weaknesses into an immunity
+ Just enough moves to make a decent offensive set
- Lots and lots of weaknesses to pretty much everything you face lategame: Water, Steel, Bug, Dark, Ghost... (Being neutral to Fighting with bad defense doesn't help with Marshall either)
- Requires Rock Polish to be of any use, not enough bulk to afford being slow. Lacks raw power to oneshot pretty much anything not weak to Psychic
- Mediocre stats considering how late you find it
- Lacks a usable STAB Rock Move

+Fantastic stats and a terrific movepool to compliment it
+Hustle Zweillous has amongst the highest Atk stat in the game
-Impossible achieve Hydreigon without major grinding
-Zwewilous is too frail for the Endgame
-Zweillous relies on Dragon Rush for damage, which is reduced to 60% Acc after Hustle
-Zweilous doesn't get the majority of Hydreigon's moves

+It evolves early
-Lacks a powerful STAB Move before Lv 47 (Night Slash) or Driftveil Cty, with 10(!) Blue Shards for Dark Pulse.
-Terrible Defenses mean it'll struggle to take even neutral hits
-Requires heavy Shard investment for a half-decent moveset
-Can barely do anything against any major battles
-There's probably more to this list

-Doesn't get a Physical STAB move until Gunk Shot (Lv 49) or 8 Red Shards at Driftveil
-Evolves very late considering where it's found
-Has basically no Physical moves until Driftveil, where it requires heavy Shard investment
-It's Spe means it'll be taking hits left and right
-Honestly, I can't think of a positive factor

+ Gets good coverage with its STAB moves
- Limited special movepool
- No special Flying-type STAB until Hurricane (Lv 60); until then, you're stuck with Fly which won't do much off Base 60 Atk
- Not useful for major battles

+Early Return / Frustration makes it viable from the get-go
+Early Crunch / Sucker Punch
-Watchog is better in every way
-Outlives it's usefulness at around Clay
-Doesn't learn any useful moves after Crunch for a long timr
-Frail. Very frail

+Power Trick is usable if you know you're fighting something that uses special attacks.
+Power Split can cripple strong opponents in one turn
-Does no damage without boosts and even then SE hits will 3HKO at best.
-Gimmicky and practically useless

+ Low speed kind of compensated by Rock polish
+ Good ability turning one of your weaknesses into an immunity
+ Just enough moves to make a decent offensive set
- Lots and lots of weaknesses to pretty much everything you face lategame: Water, Steel, Bug, Dark, Ghost... Will not live any strong special hit regardless.
- Requires Rock Polish to be of any use, not enough bulk to afford being slow. Lacks raw power to oneshot pretty much anything not weak to Psychic/Rock
- Mediocre stats considering how late you find it
- Unlike Lunatone, it gets dual STAB, but all its options are not 100% reliable

+STAB Petal Dance is obtained pretty early (Lv 33)
-Has no Special Moves besides it's STAB
-The first Sun Stone is found in Nimbasa, and therefore requires constant babying until then
-Sunkern has the worst BST in the entire game
-Sunflora's Stats mean even neutral moves will put it into the critical range

+95/110/130 defences are amongst the best mixed defences in the game.
-Has nonexistant offensive presence.
-Relies on the opponent's Atk stat for Foul Play, which outdamages Payback more often than not
-Relies on Toxic+Moonlight and its great defences to do damage.
-Until you get Toxic it will really Struggle to do anything without multiple Screeches.
-Cannot touch Steels or even most Poison types, because of its reliance on Toxic.
-Gets no real moves besides STAB + Return

Well, as explained in the OP, at least one of us has to nominate a tiering for it to be eligible. This ensures the quality of the tierings we add since all the current certs are well-established raters(and hopefully anyone else we add).

The Magnemite line is just brilliant. You catch it before battling the second Gym-leader; Magnemite can defeat Roxie with very few problems thanks to its Poison-type immunity and the fact that Sonicboom is immensely powerful early in the game. It also dominates Burgh with Sonicboom. Although it has trouble against Elesa and Clay, especially given it starts to lag behind while still a Magnemite in the high 20s, it is likely to evolve into Magneton around Clay and then Magnezone in Chargestone Cave, upon which it truly shines. It demolishes Skyla and Marlon, as well as Drayden thanks to its plethora of resistances and paralysis support. He also faces trouble against Marshal in the Elite Four, but apart from that the combination of his many resistances, bulk, Sturdy ability and amazing base 130 Special Attack mean it will be sweeping through the game with ease.

+ Available early
+ Dominates almost all Gym Leaders
+ Great stats and typing
+ Sturdy is a great ability
- Lags behind around Elesa before it evolves into Magneton

The Magby line is essentially one of the best Fire Type Lines in the Main Story of BW2 , since you can catch it before the 2nd Gym and it has the Ability to go Physical or Special and be sucessful. It can help against Roxie's Whirlipede with Ember , does well against Burgh , but really does a little bit better near the end of the game. It also has above Average SpA to make use of Moves like Flamethrower and Thunderbolt. Flame Body , can be useful for Gym Leaders like Drayden too.

+ Available early
+ Good stats
- Shallow Movepool
- Doesn't do well against Marlon or Clay.

However with Magmortar, isn't the Magamrizer found Late/Postgame? If so, you're stuck with Magmar for a good portion of the game. You're also stuck with a Magby until Lv. 30. Upper-Middle, if not flat out middle imo.

Sigilyph is a mixed bag. On one hand, it has one of amongst the wider movepools in the game (look at it's notable moves) and has the right stats to use them. *It also has one of the best abilities in the game with Magic Guard, which gives it immunity from the much too common Poison Status ailment. It's wide movepool lets it adapt to whatever your team needs. Need something to help with Iris? Give it Ice Beam. Lacking some Firepower? Slap Heat Wave on it. This means that Sigilyph will never feel redundant on your team and will always be doing something to support you.

On the other, it shines against none of the main battles in the plot save E4 Marshall and has trouble with the Steel types that Team Plasma love to carry with them unless you invest in Heat Wave. It's somewhat middling defenses mean that it won't be taking too many hits in the endgame. Couple that with the fact that it's pretty much with it's STABs until the last third of the game, and you'll see it's not all sunshine and rainbows for Sigilyph

+Has one of the best Movepools in the game
+Magic Guard
-Barely sees use in major battles as a main fighter
-Middling defenses spell trouble for it endgame
-Relies on it's STAB for a good portion of the game

However with Magmortar, isn't the Magamrizer found Late/Postgame? If so, you're stuck with Magmar for a good portion of the game. You're also stuck with a Magby until Lv. 30. Upper-Middle, if not flat out middle imo.

Yep, the Magmarizer is on the Plasma Frigate, and of course you'll need to trade as well.
Magby does really begin to get left behind once you reach the lvl 20s and its bad defence becomes more apparent. Useful early on against Roxie and Burgh, but Clay, Drayden and Marlon make it progressively harder for him to hold is weight on the team.
While a good pokemon in it's own right, Magmortar faces stiff competition from fellow early Fire types Arcanine and Darmanitan who boast similar stats , superior abilities and are just more convenient to raise. I'd put in Upper-Mid at best.

- Description -
You get this fella really early and he's useful from the word go. Level 19 is fire punch which gets boosted from hustle. This will be the only move you need for the rest of the game. Burgh gets whipped by darumaka and although this is the only useful gym for darumaka, having 145 base attack and sheer force when it becomes darmanitan you can rely on it to be your hard hitting pokemon for the whole of the game. Definitely top tier as it also outclasses Flareon/Emboar/Chandelure.

+Get it early on
+Flare blitz level 33
+Sheer force and 145 base attack wrecks even bulky pokes with neutral hits
-Hustle can leave you missing loads, but worth the attack boost
-Recoil from flare blitz

- Description -
You can catch Riolu before the first gym. Although force palm has been nerfed to lvl 15 in BW2 he still is useful to back up your starter. If you use riolu enough and don't let him faint to much you'll have a Lucario at lvl 20. Lucario's only STAB move is force palm until level 51 were he gets aura sphere however Lucario gets lots of other useful moves as well. Ice punch is useful for taking out drayden (dragon gym) and despite not being too useful against any of the gyms, Lucario is really useful in dealing with trainers and his steel typing helps massively.

- Description -
You can get an Eevee relatively early when you get access to the sewers. However vaporeon in not available until battle subway at least which requires a round on the singles train to get (3BP) or you can wait until after clay to get a waterstone. Battle subway took me a number of attempts to get through as movesets were still lacking on my pokemon as it was quite early on. This grind or delay bewteen getting eevee and evolving it into a useful pokemon really makes it drop from high tier to upper middle. Other than that it is a great pokemon, extremely bulky and can take hits very well. Vaporeon is the pokemon I tend to switch into to take hits. Leftovers on this guy combined with aqua ring (wish only available with breeding) makes toxic stalling an option too.

If you are willing for a short 7 subway battles for 3BP to get a waterstone, it will go high tier. However if you feel this is too much then upper-middle

+Great HP
+One of the best water pokemon in BW2
-Obtained rather late and bit of a grind to get

imo the lack of STAB until Level 51 should drop Lucario to High, it's too big of a flaw to go unnoticed. It doesn't help that the rest of it's Level Up Movepool is pretty rubbish. You should also mention it has a poweful Return to support it. Not to mention Counter is arguably the best Anti-Cheren measure. I suppose you could also mention Iron Tail for 6 Blue Shards if you really want to. Flash Cannon is a more realistic STAB option, although it's found pretty late. Still, it should be earlier than 51.

I'd say Upper-Mid for Vaporeon. It doesn't have a STAB to work with until you get Surf. You could invest a Heart Scale in Water Gun, but that's still until Driftveil, so yeah.

imo the lack of STAB until Level 51 should drop Lucario to High, it's too big of a flaw to go unnoticed. It doesn't help that the rest of it's Level Up Movepool is pretty rubbish. You should also mention it has a poweful Return to support it. Not to mention Counter is arguably the best Anti-Cheren measure. I suppose you could also mention Iron Tail for 6 Blue Shards if you really want to. Flash Cannon is a more realistic STAB option, although it's found pretty late. Still, it should be earlier than 51.

I'd say Upper-Mid for Vaporeon. It doesn't have a STAB to work with until you get Surf. You could invest a Heart Scale in Water Gun, but that's still until Driftveil, so yeah.

Force palm still isn't a bad move and the para hax is really nice. Brick break is an option for 12BP aswell. I still think that being steel means you can have it at the front of your party to be able to take hits from anything but fire/ground means it's high tier but coupled with the fact you will have lucario from 2nd gym onwards means I think top still. Sword dance comes at level 37 anyway so you can boost and sweep with neutral coverage for E4 and the last two gyms.

tbh we really shouldn't factor in Battle Subway / PWT rewards as it detracts from a Pokemon's usability. A base 60 BP / 10 PP until Very lategame where most other Pokemon will have their final STAB moves hinder it. Sure, it can get some nice moves via TM and Move Tutors, but it doesn't replace the fact that it's lacking a STAB move.

tbh we really shouldn't factor in Battle Subway / PWT rewards as it detracts from a Pokemon's usability. A base 60 BP / 10 PP until Very lategame where most other Pokemon will have their final STAB moves hinder it. Sure, it can get some nice moves via TM and Move Tutors, but it doesn't replace the fact that it's lacking a STAB move.

tbh we really shouldn't factor in Battle Subway / PWT rewards as it detracts from a Pokemon's usability. A base 60 BP / 10 PP until Very lategame where most other Pokemon will have their final STAB moves hinder it. Sure, it can get some nice moves via TM and Move Tutors, but it doesn't replace the fact that it's lacking a STAB move.

@Lucario discussion: Drain Punch. You get it from the Move tutor in Lentimas town, which is late lvl 30s iirc. I think with that he can reach top-tier with that.

[2/3] on Darmanitan. Having the strongest Fire attack in the entire in the game does count for a lot.

Although Darmanitan has one less Gym to knock over in BW2, due to Brycen being replaced by Marlon, he completely dominates Colress and still hits like a truck throughout the game, so I'll give it an approval. [3/3]

Personally I think it's fine to factor in PWT rewards in the tiering as it's a legitimate method of gaining shards. As for the Battle Subway, not so much since it takes a lot longer to reach a steak of 7 than it does to win three matches/lose on purpose in the PWT.

@ the person who asked what Anti-Cheren is, it basically means that Counter is the best way of defeating Cheren. Drain Punch is a good point regarding Lucario, and that coupled with the fact that he can work fine with coverage moves in Dig, Bone Rush and very early Return means he's pretty powerful. His plethora of resistances are also very useful, so I think he can fit into top-tier with that.

Also I can't see Magmortar any higher than Mid, possible Upper-mid at the very best. It faces stiff competition from Growlithe and Darumakka although I don't think other Pokemon should dictate whether a Pokemon is good or not. The fact that it'll be stuck as a Magby until Lv 30 is pretty annoying, and you don't get Magmortar until after the 8th gym so you'll likely be babying it a lot.

And finally, I'll [3/3] Vaporeon for upper-mid, and I agree with Sigilyph for Upper-mid [1/3].

+Gets Huge Power and great coverage after receiving Return/Frustration at the first gym. Aqua Tail is a solid STAB if you can get it to evolve fast enough.
+Solid movepool that doesn't take too much effort to make.
+Early evolution makes for a great early game.
+adorable
-Virtually useless against Elesa because it's too slow.
-prone to missing the Aqua Tail until Waterfall is obtained.

+Has the most Powerul Attack available within the main game
+Perfect availability, completely destroying Burgh
+Makes the otherwise challenging Corless fight a joke
-Hustle means it'll be missing everyone once in a while
-Overusing Flare Blitz requires heavy maintinance

Vaporeon - Upper MidAvailability - Mid Game (PWT)Notable Moves - Surf, Ice Beam, Shadow Ball, ToxicStats - Great HP and SpA. Above average SpD and mediocre stats everywhere else.
+It's stats make for one of the best Special tankers within the game
+One of the few Pokemon thaat can really take advantage of ToxiStalling
-Lacks a STAB move until Driftveil, requiring a Heart Scale after the Clay Battle

I'd like to get the OP (dragoniteftw) to agree to this before editting the Tiering.